Midway Raises Stocks and Brows

Apparently, Midway Games is the first, or at least one of the first, game publishers in 2001 to receive the happy blessing of starry-eyed investors and analysts who, having recently seen demos at E3, believe games such as Spy Hunter, Arctic Thunder, and Mortal Kombat will catapult Midway into a "breakthrough year."

Needless to say, investor confidence has gone up for Midway, which has seen its stock soar more than 20% to a new 52-week high. And Midway shares received an extra push Tuesday when its stock was upgraded to "strong buy" from UBS Warburg analyst Mike Wallace. In early May, Midway announced it received $42 million in new financing for future game development, and the company's shares were up $1.95, or more than 21%, at $11. in late-day trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The company released Gauntlet: Dark Legacy for PS2 in early May, and has seen it jump to the top of the PS2 charts, according to TRSTS reports, and this week the company ships Cart Fury for PS2.

"Clearly, Midway is taking the right approach with respect to the console market," said Paul Kaump, equity analyst with Dougherty & Co. in Minneapolis. "Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are each going to spend about $1 billion promoting their systems so there is going to be a lot of focus on the industry, which will be good for Midway," Kaump said.